September 07, 2016

Just Paper and Tea, Georgetown, Washington DC

Paper is one of things I collect. It started with stationery -- I really enjoy hand writing letters -- then branched out to notebooks of which I keep several at a time including a personal diary, a tea tasting notepad, and a projects journal. Plus, I always carry a small notepad in my handbag. I am not sure how I learned about Just Paper and Tea, a stationery shop in Georgetown, but I was nudged to visit it after seeing a photo of the mural shown above on Steep Thoughts Instagram feed. As you might know, I lived in Arlington, VA last year so it was theoretically easy for me to visit the shop, but despite the proximity, I only visited the shop once though I was in Georgetown several times throughout the year.

Did you see the #ShopSmall tag in the mural shown in the first photograph? This shop is roomier than I expected but its layout creates a cosy atmosphere. I would say it it equally dedicated to both paper products and to tea though you can probably tell from the photos that I spent much of my time looking at the teas. Paper and Tea carries teas from the French luxury brand, Theodor.

There were private-label blends in the inner room of the shop using wholesale tea from China and other countries.

Going back to the main room, I noticed a bing from Misty Peak Teas. I had been following Misty Peak on Instagram so the company was not new to me. However, I had not drunk any of their puerhs at that point. I did not want to invest in a cake so asked if the shop carried smaller quantities of puerh and lucky for me they did.

I was shown a 1 year mao cha or loose puerh from Misty Peak and purchased several ounces. Stay tuned for my review.